Writing the Cozy Mystery

 by Sybil Johnson

Awhile back I answered a call on social media for cozy authors to write an essay about some aspect of writing the cozy mystery. The essays were to be compiled into a book. My essay, “Crafts and the Cozy Mystery”, was selected for the book, which came out this past Monday: Writing The Cozy Mystery: Authors’ Perspectives on Their Craft. It’s edited by Phyllis M. Betz, Professor Emerita of English from La Salle University. You might have seen her name on another book about cozies titled Reading the Cozy Mystery: Critical Essays on an Underappreciated Subgenre.

Essays are split into four sections: writing genre, writing theme, writing setting and writing character. I have read books from a lot of the authors represented. Authors: Sherry Harris, Vicki Delany, Justin M. Kiska, Diane Vallere, Kait Carson, Tina deBellegarde, Mary Ann Evans, J.A. Hennrikus, Andrea J. Johnson, Peggy Ehrhart, Edith Maxwell, Maya Corrigan, Leslie Budewitz, Jennifer J. Chow, Rabbi Ilene Schneider, Marni Graff, M.E. Hilliard, Amanda Flower, Kathleen Marple Kalb (Nikki Knight), J.C. Kenney, Carol E. Ayer and Winnie Frolik. Phew! That’s a lot of authors!

Phyllis, who I met at Malice this last year, wrote a very interesting and thoughtful piece as an Introduction to the book.

I really enjoyed writing the essay. I’m really happy I took the time to participate, though I admit to a bit of impostor syndrome. But I am happy to be thought of as part of the cozy mystery author world. 

 Buy links: Amazon, BN, IndieBound

You may notice that the price is, well, a little pricey. This is a textbook publisher so I think they tend to price their books higher. You can always suggest that your local library order a copy. It seems like the kind of thing libraries would be interested in carrying. I know some of my local libraries carry Reading the Cozy Mystery. Rumor has it there will be a discount for SinC members, but I haven’t seen anything definitive as yet.